Meet the Mayor: Essex Station
Welcome to "Meet the Mayor," a segment in which we interview local Foursquare Mayors in
their natural habitats.
Essex Station
Mose Berkowitz
What's this concrete block
thingy?
This used to be a portal for the Boylston-Essex train
station. Before the MBTA, the Boston Elevated Railway went over Washington Street.
There are actually four portals here, and they're all still around in one shape
or another. But they tore the BER down on my birthday: May 4, 1987.
You use Foursquare to
promote obscure historical landmarks?
I'm trying to mark all the original sites and artifacts from
the BER, though I want to do more with vacant property. Down the street, that
used to be the Gaiety Theatre. They demolished it in the 2000s. I made that a
venue. Of course, these sites are being turned into very unexpressive, bland,
almost corpulent luxury housing. I'm an affordable-housing advocate, and it
frustrates me to see how the city is letting these places rot.
Fuckin'-A.
It would be cool if tourists and historical buffs saw these
venues and said, "Hey, I'll check that out. The history behind it is really
rich." Foursquare allows me to preserve places in a digital space.
Note: apparently lacking Berkowitz's reverence for local
history, Foursquare closed several of his venues, including Essex
and Gaiety.
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